'Take Advantage Of Trump Administration'

'Pick up momentum and find opportunities from an intelligence-sharing standpoint.'

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday said her country's relations with India can strengthen further.

During a short question-and-answer session after her speech at this year's Raisina Dialogue, a strategic affairs conference organised by the ministry of external affairs and the New Delhi-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation, Gabbard said the US and India would work closer.

Gabbard, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior government ministers and officials during her two-day visit to India, said she had heard "directly from her Indian counterparts about the very serious concerns" they have about India's security interests.

She, however, did not mention any third country by name.

When asked about the bilateral relationship, particularly related to security, Gabbard said the US and India should look for the opportunities where they can build on "an already very strong partnership".

"And again take advantage of the new administration (Trump's) coming in, to pick up that momentum and find those other opportunities, from an intelligence-sharing standpoint, knowing that in our role, our responsibility is to make sure that we are providing the best, timely and relevant intelligence-reporting to our leaderships that they can make the best, informed decisions."

Gabbard said evolving cybersecurity needs and the vulnerabilities that exist have made working with emerging technologies and artificial intelligence necessary.

During her speech, Gabbard said US President Trump and Modi, who met in Washington, DC, in February, are "routed in our shared values of peace, freedom, security and prosperity".

She quoted the former US president John F Kennedy's 1963 'strategy of peace', which was a call for cooperation between the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union, and said Trump is committed to achieving peace through 'a strategy of realism and pragmatism'.

Gabbard said in the current world, where wars are being fought, such leaders are needed to "engage directly with friends and adversaries alike" to prevent an escalation of conflict.

"Just as President Trump is committed to 'America first', putting the safety, security and freedom of the American people at the forefront of his policies and his decisions, Prime Minister Modi is committed to 'India first', Prime Minister Luxon is committed to 'New Zealand first.'"

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addressed the opening session of the conference on Monday.

His country has signed a new defence agreement with India. The US and India have long-term defence agreements.

"But this should not be misunderstood to mean that 'America first' is America alone," Gabbard said, adding that the new Trump administration is not "isolationist".

Since Trump's second term began in January, the US has withdrawn from the World Health Organisation and the Paris climate accord.

Trump has also blamed Ukraine for the war with Russia, the country that invaded it three years ago.

Gabbard called the Indo-Pacific region "the geopolitical centre of gravity for the 21st century".

When asked about the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a grouping of the US, Japan, Australia, and India, she said the new Trump administration has engaged with US partners since "day one".

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com